The Cross.. Transformed

I was thinking this morning about how transformed the cross has become over the centuries… after Jesus was crucified on it. Since Jesus was cruelly , tortuously murdered on a cross, it has been transformed into a symbol of love., of sacrifice and hope. It has been engraved in altars and chiseled out of marble and precious stone. It has been carved out of crystal and placed on mantle tops, it has been formed out of sterling silver or gold and worn as an elegant jewelry reminding the wearer that Someone special died for them.

Prior to Jesus’s death on a cross, a cross was nothing more than a rough hewn ugly construction of wood.. full of splinters .. and something barbaric created by the Babylonians and perfected as the ultimate execution tool by the Romans. The cross wasn’t beautiful and in areas it is still being used today as a form of execution, it is still ugly. Only Jesus could transform an ugly cross into something beautiful because of why He allowed Himself to die on one.. for the love of His Father and the sake of all mankind.

Jesus.. a carpenter’s son worked with wood, and chopped, cut, polished wood for years along with His step-father, Joseph, and His Heavenly Father. Jesus made many things out of ordinary wood. Jesus’s ultimate Masterpiece was how blessed that cross became as He shed His blood upon it, dying for us all. He didn’t have to carve, buff, chisel or shape it to make it beautiful. He transformed it by what He made it become- an instrument of love and ultimate sacrifice. Only Jesus could transform something ugly as a rugged cross into something precious . Only Jesus, our Redeemer, can transform us into someone formed, shaped, buffed and polished .. made precious without splinters, by His shed blood.

ps.. after meditating on this.. I asked our Lord if He would give me anything from His words recorded in ‘He and I” regarding this post. I blindly opened to the following from Him: “..I created and redeemed you, and with what love!”